CONTINUED FROM A

The teachers are having a sedate cup of tea. "The teachers have lunch at the Chinese Pavilion."
The Chandras walk toward a square pavilion. "There is a world of travel. The Chandras go to Spain." Garden, then glass bottles & beakers display (Mr Chandra looks back at them - is he longing to get away to look at more science? hard to tell).

"The teachers will bring back to their classes snapshots of the far east and stories of many lands."
They pass India, Venezuela, Korea, Mexico, (China or Japan?). "Miss Abbot and Mrs Todd visit indonesia" (Gamelan, smiling ladies with traditional shadow puppets). "Country after country displays its treasures." [montage]. "The Pieta of Michelangelo." [long pan over statue]. "For the Japanese, the art of drinking tea is almost a religious ritual." [tea ceremony - the teachers participate after watching carefully]. "It's only a short walk from Asia to Africa." [awesome drum dance]

The dude from the opening sequence in the submersible car drives in. "And here's a late arrival, coming to the fair in his own way." Dorky looking middle aged guy parks seeming at random and gets out, opening up a map. He walks around with spectacles & a pipe peering at exhibits. "He finds the world of the Old West." Looks interested at a shooting parlor, then turns and presses a button on a music machine, pulls back when music unexpectedly comes out. The gunman turns around & then back. The dorky guy sways with the cacophonic music. Now more music machines start up, & he places his nose into them one by one. He pretends to play the automatic piano.

The scout boys, still lost, are looking tired. Agin they see the troop, and hurry after them (this time a little slower). They catch up and swing in at the end without anyone noticing they were gone. "So at last the tender feet rejoin troop 295 from the bronx."

"The Wilson kids need a rest; so do their parents. So they leave them in a nursery for a while." (Sign on the wall: "Parking of Children.")
"By chance, the Wilsons and the Chandras meet, and join up for sightseeing." (standing in line) The four of them get into an open convertible car (ford pavilion ride?). "The Wilsons have never known anyone from the opposite sides of the earth before. They decide to see another show together." (GM) They get onto the Futurama II ride. This consists of groups of 3 bucket seats facing forward on a conveyor belt. They look down & see:

- a series of moon rovers, white & chunky looking & consisting of 6 fat bubble tires, driving over rough terrain. Old-school rocket ship waiting in a crater in the background.
- modern city highway scene, looks a lot like the original Futurama but the buildings & control towers are much more square, white, low, le corbusier looking. They sit for tea afterward. The Chandras are smoking (clearly more sophisticated than the midwestern Wilsons).

Meanwhile, our two young ladies are eating lunch. They vacate a table just as the young men, carrying sandwiches, spot them and run right across a shallow pool in their haste to catch them. The young ladies finally see the young men, laugh, and decide to turn this into a chase. The ladies follow the paths, while the men trample through bushes. The ladies get onto a ride with old spindly automobiles (Avis). They're clearly very bad drivers. The lads chase behind (much better drivers). The ladies break down, and the shot flips to a happy scene with the four of them paired up on the Avis car ride, now driving slowly with violins playing.

The Wilsons now have their kids back & have left the Chandras. They walk slowly past the Unisphere & fountains. "The WIlsons have picked up their children from the nursery. They go exploring a Belgian village." They get on a noisy carousel. Meanwhile the Chandras ride on a high wire car overhead. They can hear the distant carousel music below, and watch as the sun goes down on the Unisphere.

"At dusk, a new fair comes to life." Shots of the pavilions & fountains lit up. Spectacular fireworks. The Wilsons in silhouette laugh and enjoy the sights; mum & dad dance together.

CREDITS

Directed by Alexander Hammid and Wheaton Galentine
Associate Director Peter Robinson
Music composed and conducted by Gene Forrell
Narration written by Edward Field
Spoken by Robert Fields
Edited by Theodore Kamecke
Photography Jess Paley Michael Livesey Ross Lowell Jules Sindic
Sound Fine Recording Inc.
Sound effects David W. Scott
Production coordinator Joan Piker
Print by Technicolor

I loved the Fair. I was 10.
Great film.

I was in my senior year of High School. I think we all went at least four times to the fair. I remember seeing my first Toyata automobile, at the Japanese pavilion. They also introduced us all to brands like Sony, and Toshiba.
I also remember that many of the big name exhibits, seemed very familiar when I first visited "Epcot" in
Florida. I often wonder how many people realize more than a few of those rides were actually exhibits for companies like Mobil, and General Electric. Good film, but too bad it isn't in color.

'To The Fair' is a classic example of why I hate films like this. It just wishes that I was there while it was happening because EVERYTHING here looks wonderfully fun! A whole motley of people discover every aspect of the fair, including it's pavillions, rides and even the restaraunts. This film has a great 60's feel to it, and the narration is light and breezy. Like I said, I just wish I was there to experience it, because I would be there in a heartbeat. The only complaint I have about this film is people going on rides and not showing, or telling us what this ride is. But that's a nitpicky point, I love this movie, and you will too. This is a MUST SEE on this site!!

(see Pt1)

Out of all the World's Fair movies in the Prelinger Archives, this has the best narrative flow. It follows various groups of people during their day at the fair: a family of five; a couple from India; two women schoolteachers; three Boy Scouts who get separated from their troup; a pair of young women pursued by two very ardent male suitors; and -- the only one to whom I can relate -- a bespectacled nerd who drives to the fair across the water in his amphibious car just so he can listen to the out-of-tune orchestrions. The beatific look on his face as he cocks his head to take in the cacophony is priceless. (This second part of the movie includes footage of the General Motors' Futurama II ride -- compare to the 1939 version in the film "To New Horizons.")

A must-see (and download) not only for those interested in this fair, but also for fans of Disneyland. Several Disney attractions (the Carousel of Progress, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, It's a Small World, even those dinosaurs you see from the railroad) were developed and built for the fair. This is the fair that Thomas Hine cited as marking "the end of Populuxe." Our loss in Vietnam and Watergate were only seven years away.